In order to give a patient the best possible care, it is imperative for patients, doctors and caregivers to get an accurate history of a patient's medicines. Accurate medication histories help avoid preventable prescription errors and consequent harm to patients. Errors in medication histories can lead to various drug-related problems such as unwanted duplication, dangerous combinations, or improper discontinuation of medicines. They can also cause problems in accurately planning future drug treatment or identifying previous adverse reactions. The more knowledge patients, doctors and caregivers have of a patient's medication history, the better equipped they are to treat the patient more effectively.
However, it can be difficult for caregivers to keep accurate records of an individual's medication history. Patients see different doctors for various ailments and many times, it is challenging these doctors to coordinate and relay all the necessary information. Even in a hospital setting, it is easy for information to fall through the cracks as patients are transferred from one doctor's care to another. Furthermore, these medical professionals often have to rely on what the patient remembers, which can sometimes be problematic.
When a person is ill, that person will often take a variety of medications and it is often difficult for individuals to remember all the details of their past and present medications. Patients frequently struggle to recall the specific dosages or directions that correspond to each medication, or perhaps there are simply too many medications for patients to keep track. Moreover, some ailing patients have diminished capacity and are simply not capable of remembering their medication history.
While there are various products that address the general concepts of storing, organizing, and dispensing medicines, patients still rely primarily on their doctor's records and their own memory for their medication history. As a result, there is a real need for a product that can present a patient's medication history in a manner so as to eliminate confusion and prevent administration of incorrect dosages.
Therefore, there remains a need for means displaying a patient's medications in a manner to eliminate confusion and avoid preventable prescription errors and consequent harm to patients. The present invention fulfills this need and others.